Shiloh looked to Rat with an eager eye, but didn’t outright ask, instead turning back to Yoko and replying with a bright, “Yeah, I’d love to come back sometime. It seems really different out here, like a whole other world almost!” He kicked his feet out a little but was careful not to move around too much. He was extremely long legged and knew he had a habit of messing up the tables.

As the soup arrived, Shiloh lit up. His eyes locked onto the bowl as it was slid in front of him with curiosity and excitement. He didn’t know what it was, but it looked and smelled good. Despite the warning about the heat, he immediately lifted the spoon as if investigating it and touched it to his tongue. It was, admittedly, pretty hot. Wasn’t going to burn his mouth off though. He investigated the spoon as if it were some foreign object not particularly understanding it to be, in fact, a spoon…. It looked like a weird little bowl.

Setting that spoon down off to the side, he just picked up his bowl in one hand and downed the whole thing, heat and all. Oh! Oh it was good! Hot but very good! Probably the best thing he’d tasted to his recollection!

Eagerly looking down into the blow and wishing there to be more like this, he muttered, “Is this even food at this point? It’s so good.”

~~~

Kovu nodded slightly, contemplatively, as he listened to her say that she could handle herself. The concern didn’t leave his face, though, as she seemed ready to stay there and take whatever they had coming. He couldn’t help but wonder why. What would possess a person to do that? No one seemed to ever have done that before, far as he could recall. They either turned tail and ran at the forefront or when he urged them to at the least. Perhaps she just couldn’t see how much of a lost cause their position likely was. Maybe she thought they would be fine…

“Well, suppose I can’t make you leave if you don’t want to,” He admitted his thoughts with a grateful but worrisome look on his face, his ever soft smile gracing his features as he added considerately, “If things turn south, though, please do take care of yourself. I’d hate for you to get hurt on my account. Don’t feel like you have to stay.” He wanted to say that he had always managed somehow thus far, but the stranger likely was already staying out of some form of pitty or concern, he assumed. That would only make it worse.

The fair-faced boy could hear the shifting of weight and straps after he handed the bag back and could thus tell that it was being tucked away, but caught onto a notable pause after his question. For a moment, he wondered if it was an odd inquiry, but it turned out he was right. He was honestly a little surprised when she said that they had, indeed, met, bringing him pause in return. So then, he must have forgotten or received some sort of injury enough to explain that he would have forgotten her. “I’m very sorry,” He found himself saying before he had time to give it much thought, just speaking from the heart, “I certainly wouldn’t mean to forget a kind soul. I suppose-“ And then she said that she’d known his human self….

A longer pause there.

His mind wandered, connecting the dots, following the bread crumbs where they led. Was it…possible? He couldn’t remember but a very short time before his death, not much more or less than what was average. Despite everything, he remained very average in that, though he wished he knew more. That would, at least, explain the familiar feeling- that /safe/ feeling he had, a nostalgic longing when she spoke. His mind worked behind increasingly lost and intense golden eyes as he delved deeper into his tangle of thoughts.

It had just…been so long since he’d last thought about those times. Beyond the screaming, there was…something. Something soft and sweet, before he’d gone into a house, before he’d climbed the stairs, missed that step, felt that pain, waited who knew how long… There was something… But what were the odds of meeting such a person now? Both of them like this? And why did she remember while he did not? Was this- was that normal? He was so separate from others like him, so isolated and hated that he supposed it wasn’t impossible for him to be unaware of much of his own world. But-

His heart ached against his ribs and he found himself absently thumbing the space of his chest there as he recalled the feeling of his fingers on a car door, shutting it loudly and leaning in a window on a sunny day. The breeze shifted his mess of hair and that voice said something about seeing him soon…

Why did that hurt so much?

His face bent with the pang then, slightly wincing as he laid his hand still across his chest, then slowly shifted to finger the bells around his neck. It was only then that he really tuned in to the fact that his companion there was almost breathlessly fumbling over telling him it was okay if he didn’t believe her. He heard pain- deep pain in her voice and his blind gaze lifted to her with a compassionate face, ginger hair brushing in front of his eyes. “No, no, I believe you,” he tried to assure her, though he was still trying to wrap his mind around whether or not he believed himself, “Really, honestly. I believe you Lu-“

It struck him like a lightning bolt, his thoughts while he lay on that empty floor and slipped away. That name that haunted him from the corners of his thoughts when he’d come to. That name-

Rat had practically done the same with his soup and had downed it quickly. Though he had the brains to blow on it a little so it would not boil his tongue. Yoko was even more mannered about it and used his spoon.

The boy smiled and giggled. "Yea, its food alright. There's seaweed and tofu in it. It's more like an appetizer to start the meal off or to distract your stomach while to big meal cooks." He explained.

"You have learned a lot from living here Yoko. Most of that is stuff I probably wouldn't have figured out if I didn't come here very often." Rat said. "Fist time I ate here, I thought that Gau was teasing me with this soup but then my brain figured out what it was meant to do." He added in. Rat loved the soup here.

Gau smiled and listened to the kids talk while he cooked and got out the massive plates and bowls.

He loaded up a bowl with piping hot rice and cracked a large egg over it. The egg cooked on the rice and he added large slices of fried pork around the sides and the chopped green onions. He did the same with two other bowls and then prepared three rainbow rolls, and three Hulk rolls. After that, he arranged the plates and brought them to the table.

"Alright then." He said as he set down plates and bowls for them all. The smell was like heaven. "Yoko, make sure you show Shiloh how sushi works. I don't want the wasabi to kill him." He said with a smile, clearly joking. But he didn't want to boy to be unprepared for the spicy trip that was wasabi.

Luca took a deep breath, taking air deep into her lungs, trying to calm herself. It worked, for a moment at least. When she heard her name being spoken, though, she was breathless for an entirely different reason. A smile crept on her face, entirely out of her control. The shiniko had to curl her fingers into the fabric of her pants to keep herself from launching towards Gabriel. "Yes, that-that would be my name." She tried to keep her words calm as she spoke them, though she felt that she did a terrible job. Luca knew that he wouldn't know more, she knew he didn't have his memories, but just that he got to remember her name was good enough. Better than enough.

"I wish I would've found you sooner, and maybe under better circumstances." She laughed quietly, pausing to fix her words together, "Or that I at least knew you were around to be found." Words trailing off, she rubbed her fingers into her pants, gazing at Gabriel's face. She could see that things had changed since she last saw him. There was a feeling deep in her chest that told her this life wasn't nicer than the last, to either of them. But, even with all the time between them, and the fact he didn't remember, she could already tell that so much was the same too. How he moved, be it better, how he spoke and carried himself. Gabriel was still him, and she had found him.

She just wished he wasn't getting chased after when she did. Twigs snapped from behind her, and she cursed under her breath. Luca knew she didn't have to tell Gabriel, he always had better hearing than her. Luca's next movements were swift and confident, lacking all the emotions she had just exposed to her long lost friend. Hand on the ground, she pushed from it, twirling her body around to face the noise while simultaneously getting her feet under her body. Once stable, her hand reached for her bow.

Unbeknown to her, though, someone had ran at her from the side, sword drawn. The attacker slashed at her and she had to pull back without her bow if she were to dodge the long blade. She didn't. Not entirely, at least. The sharp edge cut through the flesh of her bicep and she hissed, more in anger than pain. Twisting to face her attack, she brought her arm up in time to block another attack. Her forearm, lightly protected with a makeshift iron/leather gauntlet, caught the handle of her attacker's sword. Before they had the chance to bring the sword down, most likely cutting through her minimal defenses, she turned her arm, pushing the sword to the side. Taking her chance, she lunged forward and grasped at their face with her other hand, growling at them. Heat starting to disperse from the palm of her hand, and though she could feel her skin starting to burn, she could feel her attacker's doing the same. She only had a few moments of contact, but that was enough to cause the other to cry out and scramble to get away from her.

Luca bit her tongue as she put distance between herself and the attacker, reaching for her bow once more. A burnt hand isn't going to stop her, it hasn't before. Breathing in to calm herself a bit, she scanned the area, looking for Gabriel to make sure he was okay. That attack had disoriented her a bit.

Shiloh hungrily observed everyone taking different approaches to their soups and listened in to their discussion. “Seaweed, huh?” He looked into the empty bowl as if it would unlock some powerful, hidden secret. He wondered if any other kids of weeds would be edible… He had a kinda’ sorta’ idea of what seaweed looked like, but he couldn’t quite place it. He hadn’t been to the ocean or really had anything to do with that sort of outside world since he died. It was a lot more interesting if he could get food from it. Food was a high priority for him since he was near always starving.

As they discussed the food, he decided that he sort of already knew what an appetizer was, but must have forgotten. Seemed like the only logical answer. But he was amused that Rat thought it was some vindictive trick. Even food gods had their humble beginnings, he supposed.

As the other food arrived, he couldn’t sit still in his chair, moving around to get a good look at it eagerly when it arrived. He was inclined to just grab whatever and dig in, but he knew this place had different rules, so he waited to be invited. The food looked entrancing, though. He wanted to just shove everything into his mouth at once. He was starving to death! His ribs were going to get eaten through by his stomach to get to the food! He swore it!

“I could probably take the wasabi,” he took the joke immediately without thinking, seeing it as some challenge that he could overcome, looking very determined to give it a shot. Anything edible, he would eat.

~~~

Kovu couldn’t stop the huge, unrestrained smile that spread across his face when he heard the excitement in his companion’s voice as she affirmed his suspicions. Yes? Yes?? Oh! That was really exciting! Wha- He didn’t even remember why and he couldn’t place it, but he was extremely happy about this, about having found her. He liked to make people happy as a general rule, but this was a whole other level. He felt so deeply rooted to this person that he hardly had just met in this life. It was like he couldn’t bear to hear her upset but her moment of joy brought him simply soaring! And the fact that he had found the person he’d felt was missing, that emptiness that had haunted him since death attached to that name? That was- That was unspeakable! He couldn’t even put words to how amazing that felt!

When she started apologizing about not finding him sooner, he immediately shook his head vigorously, eagerly stumbling over his own words with a giddy excitement, “No, no, it’s crazy. You couldn’t have known there woulda’ been ghosts running around.” He didn’t hold back an almost childlike laugh of amusement at the idea and just overwhelming happiness that bubbled up from him. He hadn’t felt this wonderful in- probably ever! “Ah man- I can’t believe it. And you-“ it struck him and he immediately blurted out, “I can’t imagine what it must be like for you! You actually rememb-“

The crunch of leaves had him pausing before he finished, just in time to hear some twigs snap. He was on his feet like lightning, actually drawing his swords out. Normally he would be conflicted about that, but this person…they weren’t about to leave him. If Luca had known him in life, then they must have been close for him to feel so strongly about finding her and for her to be so happy to find him. She wouldn’t leave, so he couldn’t afford to just roll over and hope they’d let him go. Chances were slim he’d make it out, but he had to at least try. Luca had gotten into this mess for him, after all.

He could hear several people closing in from all sides. The mob must have gotten past the fire. He’d almost forgotten about them in the excitement. His heart pounded but he slowed his breathing, keeping it low and calm to hear the sounds closing in clearly. Moving quickly, he caught large sword against his own, holding his up with sharp reflexes and following the instincts his abilities provided. With a powerful thrust, he threw them back, but dodged to the side and narrowly missed a lunging spear. His feet nimbly worked their way up the stones behind him in his motion and he could hear a skirmish starting where Luca had been. His brow settled with a determined look as he launched with his knee, connecting loudly with the side of one of his attacker’s faces. Despite being armed with two swords, he still opted for blunt force. He didn’t trust that he wouldn’t accidentally kill someone when using his blades. They were a last resort or for blocking mostly.

His feet hit the forest floor again and he ducked down, feeling the whoosh of the swordsman’s blade brush over his back by mere inches. Too close…but he took the moment to listen in to where Luca had been again, an audible check in. He wasn’t exactly he best t being able to tell what was going on, but he could hear a scream and it wasn’t from her. He’d take that as a good sign. Sweet! She was-

CRACK!

Reeling sideways and staggering, Kovu took a solid set of brass knuckles to the side of his face just after the blade had missed him. They must have known how he listened for them, because the large man had been standing absolutely still and holding his breath, the swordsman almost herding the blind shiniko right into him with that dodge. He would have hit the ground, but another kneed up into his ribs, stopping the motion short and sending him backwards instead. He felt like a battered ragdoll, but planted his heel instead of continuing the motion as they wanted. The person that was in waiting behind him, then, was out of luck.

Wielding a long knife, a light, ropy young man was coming down at the ginger shiniko’s back when he suddenly stopped, planted both swords deep into the dirt, whipped around backwards, and caught him by the center of his chest with one hand, another going lower and getting his knee as Kovu ducked down. The knife cut down into his shoulder, but he continued nonetheless and vaulted the shiniko full force over his head, toppling him into the one who had kneed him before.

Bunching up that shoulder, Kovu’s hands blindly felt around the air until he found his blade hilts again and he pulled them up from the earth. In that momentary reprieve, he could pick up on the vast number of those still moving around him but had utterly lost Luca’s position in the mess. Blast it!

He didn’t have much time to think, as the brass-knuckled wall of a man’s heavy steps began to thunder towards him.

Yoko smiled and got out a smaller dipping bowl and put a little soi sauce in it before taking a little bit of the green stuff and mixing it into the sauce. "This is to dip in. You don't eat it by its self, just letting you know." He explained to Shiloh. He then took one of his own bites of sushi. "First you dip it." He said, doing as he explained. "And then you put the whole thing in your mouth." Again, doing as he explained and stuffed the bite into his mouth.

Yoko had a smaller face so the massive bite made his cheeks poof out like a little hampster. He giggled a little as he knew he had to look very silly. Gau smiled and came back, adding hot broth over top of their pork cutlet bowls to get the eggs to finish cooking.

Rat had already crammed in two bites of a role into his mouth and was chewing on one of his pork slices. "This! Haaa! Is! Haaa! THE BEST!" Rat said, trying to blow the hot air out of his mouth in between words. Gau was kitchen Jesus.

Luca's eyebrows knitted together when she was able to pick out Gabriel in the mess of shiniko. She had to wait, though, for an opening where she would be sure she would not hit her friend. Watching as he got hit, and then kneed, brought a sharp pang to her chest. She was never found of seeing the aftermath of him getting hurt, let alone seeing it live. Holding her bow securely, she waited, crouching close to the ground and, in an almost crab-like motion, scurrying to hide in the shadows of a few trees. The black haired shiniko made sure to glance around herself a few times during this, she didn't want to get caught in any skirmishes again.

Though, when she caught the end of Gabriel vaulting the one into the other, she let out a silent cheer, impressed with how he's grown the abilities to protect himself. Even in the midst of a battle, she found happiness in the smaller things. Though, it quickly faded when she saw her chance.

The man that hit Gabriel in the face, she assumed brass knuckles or his bare hands, his hands did seem big enough to do damage on their own, was open, and charging at the ginger. Staying crouched to keep her position as concealed as possible, she rearranges her feet, balancing her weight as she pulled back the string. Luca knew she only had one shot, the arrow's light would give off her position and she would need to move, and if she didn't hit him, he was going to come crashing right into Gabriel.

Deep breath. In. She closed her eyes, feeling the heat from the arrow on her face. And out. She opened her eyes, locking them on the man, on the perfect spot to hit him. Release. The arrow flew from her fingers, soaring past the end of the bow and straight towards the man's heart. There was a distinct whirl left in its path, followed by a burst of heat and light, like her own personal shooting star. The arrow lit up all in its path, including the man's shocked expression when he noticed, albeit too late, the projectile heading right for him. It hit, with a force that caused this giant to stagger. Luca could make out some sounds from him, but she believed him to be choking on his own blood. The arrow had pierced it's intended target, and once it did, set his clothing ablaze. Her projectile was no more, forming into flames that caught every fiber of the man's being. If the arrow didn't kill him, the fire sure did.

She smiled, not because she just killed a man, but because she stopped that man from hurting Gabriel. Luca was taking out her anger towards his family, this was the satisfaction she wished she could have had before he had to die.

A noise caught her attention, but it was too late. Turning her head sharply to the right, she was face to face with a man. His face scarred and mangled, short black hair dripping down in front of it. He held a mace above his head, and swung it in an arch, right into her stomach. Luca had enough time to determine what was happening, but not enough to fully dodge. She launched herself back, in the direction that the mace was swinging, to lessen the blow of the weapon on her ribs. It still hurt, though, and so did the crash. The shiniko had practically thrown herself backward, and skidded into the grass. Her elbow rammed into a rock, causing it to jerk forward in pain. Though, as the saying goes, there's no rest for the weary. Just as her momentum died down, the man swung the mace down at her. Rolling, she moved just as she felt the air shift behind her, and heard the mace hit the ground.

As she rolled, she brought her knee to her face and grabbed for the edge of her boot. Pulling out one of the throwing knives tucked in the leather, she pushed herself to stand. The shiniko was still teaching herself how to use these small, shaft-less arrows, but they came in handy. The scarred shiniko ran towards her, and when he brought his arm up to hit her, she threw the knife into his gut. Doubling over, the male slumped onto the ground in pain, and she kneed him in the face. Just for good measure.

Turning to look for Gabriel, she felt another presence, behind her. Elbowing backward, she hit into what she assumed was someone's stomach, though it didn't stop them from wrapping the chain around her throat. This, unlike the mace, caused her to drop her bow. Instead of going for the chain, she pushed herself back, into the figure behind her, until she grasped any part of them. One hand got what she assumed was his neck, and the other was the fist holding the one side of the chain. Her eyes narrowed. Damn these assholes. Grunting as he tried to move while still keeping his weapon around her throat, she could feel the all too familiar heat. Though it seared at her flesh, the now-determined-male's breath started to speed up, and his grip on the chain loosen. Releasing the hand that was burning his hands, she brought it forward and grabbed at the chain. Her hand was still hot, emitting a terrible wave of heat, but she still pulled at the chain, stripping it from the hands of her attacker and throwing it to the side. Luca's hand took a beating from it too, the recently burnt skin didn't take a liking to the hot metal. Once the chain was gone, she brought her elbow back, and again hit him in the stomach, then spun around to grab his face and slam it into her knee.

This made her head spin, though. She hadn't realized how light headed she had become from that attack, and the sudden movements made it worse. No time to spare, though. She scrambled to grab her bow and quickly look for Gabriel. Luca spotted him, though there were three... No, at least four, of these goons between her and him. They seemed to talk for a moment or two and split up towards the both of them. Luca knew their gameplan before it happened, and had already been on the move. She arched around them all, causing them to stop and turn in her direction. Splitting them up would make them more susceptible to being extremely outnumbered. The shiniko made her way to the ginger, running circles around anyone else in the way. She dreaded having to use her powers to their full extent, but if that was what she needed to do, that was what she would do.

Finally, she closed in on Gabriel, though she couldn't make out all, if any, of the wounds he might have endured, and decided not to think about it anyway. "If I pass out, I'll be okay." She was breathing heavily but still said it, grasping at his shoulder after to try and reassure him more. Then, she spun around, facing the mass of attackers she had rounded up, right into her trap. Resituating her feet, she titled her bow until it was almost entirely parallel with the ground. Deep breath. A sheen of light caught her eyes. Determined. She pulled back the string, but this time, a multitude of arrows formed in its wake. She repositioned herself again, hoping when she collapsed it wouldn't hurt too bad. Thumb touching behind her set jaw, she gave them all a smile and released the arrows before their heat did too much damage to her skin.

When they left her fingers, it was like Luca had been hit with a truck full of bricks. And the truck had been set on fire. She was completely winded and sweating from the heat. Head spinning and eyes going blurry, she felt on the brink of passing out, but somehow held consciousness, at least for a few moments. She saw the arrows hit, landed into the chests of those unlucky to be in the front of the mob, and watched them explode like a deadly sunrise. Luca couldn't tell if anyone had made it out of that because her body finally caved in and she fell unconscious.

Shiloh followed Yoko’s lead and did the same with his sauce, prepping it and then dipping the sushi in it. As he put the sushi in his mouth, he had a momentary pause. The texture wasn’t like what he was expecting from fish and, at first bite, seemed a lot like overly soft fruit, which was not usually a good idea. The flavor, though, told him that it wasn’t really an expired thing and it was actually quite good. Mentally conflicted, he decided to go with the better of the two and munched away eagerly.

He rose his brows to Rat and tried to mimic his move, jamming a pork slice in his mouth, then realizing exactly why he was blowing on it in his mouth. “This! HAA! Is! HAA! So HOT!” He jumbled out in a surprised but gleeful slur. He was blowing between his words too, obviously not having any more manners than Rat either.

As he managed to bite down the scalding food and get it down his throat, he couldn’t help but laugh it off and go for another.

He did….have a brilliant moment, though. He saw the wasabi and remembered Gau’s unspoken challenge. His look of defiance passed his face and he took a bit of pure wasabi on his knife, plopping in is mouth.

“HOLY-“ He choked back his expletives that tried to spill off his tongue and instead swallowed back, blowing on the heat but grinning ear to ear as he felt the rush of spicy victory. He felt his cheeks flush with the heat that rolled around in his mouth and took a drink of water before stating, “That’s stupid hot… I like it!”

~~~

Kovu’s mind was reeling, head still spinning from the blows he’d received and disoriented from the sudden and very jostling motions he’d gone into just moments prior. He was trying to brace himself and get ready to either fight back or dodge out of the way of the massive truck of a man barreling towards him. He didn’t want to get another set of brass to the face again- or anywhere else for that matter! He could hear him charging faster, though, and tried to hone in on the distance, shifting his weight to dodge. Before he had to, though, the distinct sound of piecing flesh and the subtle splatter against his arm that told him someone near had been hit by a projectile. The gurgling sound, stopping of the stampede-like steps, and then blooming of head brought him to immediately conclude that the man was now no longer a threat. It churned his stomach to admit…dead…because they were after him. He pushed back any guilt he had for the moment, moving back sharply in case the fire spread and deciding to attribute his current salvation to Luca. She was the only one who would have helped him out of that. He wished he could thank her, but that would have to wait.

He didn’t have a long reprieve. He only hesitated to listen and see if he could hear his companion for a moment, but couldn’t make out her skirmishes or sounds over the ruckus around him. By the time she was in a battle for her life, he was about to find himself in another of his own.

He turned sharply on instinct and held up his blade, which was met by the fist of a smaller attacker, slightly under Kovu’s size. The sound of metal splitting flesh didn’t sit well with him, but he had to fight back and thus sliced upward, cleaving the hand right down the center. A wail of surprised pain screeched in his ear but the person backed off, someone else taking his place. He was preparing to handle that when a whizzing sound met his ears. He swung up to block the man beside him, barely managing to clip what felt like a heavy sword upwards and away from himself, but he twisted to dodge what was coming at the same time. The sword brushed the air before him and plowed into the ground just in front of his toes at the same time that what made itself known as an arrow plunged into his shoulder from behind. It punched in through his back and lodged against his shoulder blade, making him suck in a sharp breath and recoil from the pain several steps.

He was handling himself well for a blind man and, one on one, he would have been quite the match for any one of these attackers, but it didn’t matter how good his other senses were. He had no chance against this many the way things were going. Each thing that threw him off left them an opening. He couldn’t get enough of a reprieve to use his powers to protect himself, either. This was how they always got him, with numbers and relentless attack. It was like striking out into a fog just moments before your death each time. He could barley keep up with a few, but with such an onslaught, he was set up for failure. Sooner or later, something big enough would get through his defenses.

Refusing to let that thing be this arrow, he gripped his sword tighter in that hand, bearing against the pain and planting his feet, knowing that each step out of place would only drive him further into a trap. He had clear ground now. He had to hold it and defend his position. The slice of a whip through the air came towards him as a lithe woman sprung up from his side, shoving the now split-handed partner of hers behind her for protection. Kovu thought fast and jumped, coiling his legs out of reach as the whip cracked against the earth, but what went up had to come down. As his feet landed confidently and firmly on the earth, his face turning to focus on her and rearing back a blade to slice her weapon, she pulled back sharply. The snake-like coil locked back and the weighted end tied around his leg, snapping against him and digging in with its barbed surface. It sliced into his flesh as she gave a harder tug and had him thrown onto back by taking his leg out from under him. He felt the skitter of his foot over the forest floor, then the stabbing pain of the arrow in his shoulder as the shaft snapped and splintered beneath him, driving the head deeper into his shoulder against the bone.

He let out a small cry of pain that he didn’t quite catch in time and the blade in that hand fell as his arm jolted back reflexively. He could hear it slide against the dry ground and immediately went to his hands and knees to reach for it quickly, but something landed beside him, striking his hand with a dull thud. It wasn’t thrown hard, but he didn’t know what it could be, so he kicked it away immediately, hearing it tumble a few times before it revealed its true colors. A flash-bang grenade.

The flash was obviously lost on him, but the bang threw his heart into a panic as his most relied on sense went into chaos. The sound was like a punch to the ears and he recoiled back with a sharp lurch. All the sounds around him became muffled and drown out by a head-splitting, shrill ringing. His brain swam and spun in a panic, completely thrown into a helplessly lost state. He couldn’t see and he couldn’t hear. He was adrift in the familiar yet now more terrifying darkness. He had no warning or way to know what was coming, where, or when to expect it, but he rightly had the overwhelming sense of danger all around him.

Something that felt like an armored shin guard met his side with considerable force and had him sprawled to his side, unable to brace or catch himself. Before he could go far, a boot found his back. That began the pounding. Ears ringing, eyes worthless, in a complete isolation within himself, he was struck from every side. Shoulder, shoulder, side, head, leg, back, chest, head again. His sense of balance was already screwed, but he could tell he was being thrown about like a rag doll, considering the dirt kicked up from different angles every now and again. He must have been surrounded. The pain rocked his body and he could feel somewhere in there his other hand losing his remaining blade as it sliced down between his fingers and he had to release it or risk losing his whole hand like that other poor soul. They could have had him then, could have gotten him like so many others as he tried in vein to guard his head, but they made a grave error.

As someone lifted him by the throat and threw him backwards against a tree, he could feel the strain of his ribs, then fell forward. Forward was the error. Both hands met the ground and he was golden. He silently prayed in his panicked, desperate mind that Luca was not in the crossfire yet, but he had to do this or he’d be nothing but dead weight. Just as someone’s familiar boot came down on his fingers, the earth all around them began to crumble to sand, spreading out from his palms. The instant that the sand was beneath them, he could feel where they were and it shot up, forming into hard ends and slicing through every bit of his current attacker. There was wailing agony as the person was shredded up every side, a deep and graveled voice, but he was thrown back and staggered away, if he survived.

The sight of a man’s exterior being turned into ground beef before their eyes cleared the space as the mob took a momentary rain-check to get the bearing of the situation. Panting and gasping for a good breath through the pounding pain, Kovu got to his hands and knees at last, planting his bare feet beneath him to continue the spread of the sand he’d made. Feeling through the sand gave some feedback and let him get a little more centered, especially since he’d stopped the attack. Before the mob could decide to launch at him or calk more bows, his trailing spread found where he’d been parted from his trusty blades and he pulled them to himself, rising them up in coils of dust into his shaking, bruised hands. It took a moment for the ringing to start to clear and muffled sound to begin to return, but he got his center and balance to creep back. He had a shot.

As he stepped down into more clear land, he was met quickly by footsteps rushing towards him. He almost lunged out protectively, but soon heard Luca’s breaths. Relief that she was alright swept over him, accepting her into the fold of his protective little patch of safety. He would have protested what she said about passing out, but had to accept that she knew what she was doing and instead promised, “I’ll have your back.”

What followed was as confusing as it was awe-inspiring. He could tell that whatever Luca had done was what had saved him before and, further, that she had just taken out a vast number of their attackers. He could hear bodies dropping and fire crackling loudly in front of them. Kovu had to catch his breath as he felt the sheer power beside him, but then was met with a heavy thud beside him as Luca hit the dirt. A frantic fear and protection shot through Kovu’s battered body. By the end of it, about fifteen were left standing, some hesitating and some rushing forward with newfound fury. Their fates were sealed the moment those who continued to attack stepped foot on the sand. Geysers of granulated earth exploded beneath them with the power of a cornered, now finally angered beast, coiling around them and trapping them inside as they solidified, crushing some and pinning others left and right. As the earth shook beneath him and waves of sand rippled across the forest, he bent down and scooped the rather built form of Luca in his arms, lifting with his shaking legs and bracing back as he took off, leaving those who were wise enough to stop in his wake.

Yoko smiled and watched the two. He thought that they were amusing, and then giggled at Shiloh's actions before giving a shocked look as he ate a whole blob of wasabi! "Oh my gosh. Your nose is going to be very clear after that!" He said with a grin and a giggle.

Gau took a seat with them after a moment with his own food. and listened to the three talk. He smiled and dug into his meal and looked around. It looked like his other shiniko were out of the house again. Aderyn was probably avoiding the group if he was home.

"Hehe, it's really good, isn't it? Gau makes this kind of stuff for breakfast lunch and dinner. Some of my other housemates can cook like this too. Aderyn is the veteran around here. You might remember him from when we were at the market. He was the short kid with us." Yoko said to Shiloh.

Before she opened her eyes, the first thing Luca felt was an extreme headache. It was like workers jackhammering at the insides of her skull, and she groaned in response, bringing her hand up to touch her face. Which was a bad idea, as her hands were burned, along with the insides of her biceps that had not been covered with clothing. She made a mental note to try and make sleeves one day. If she ever got her hands on some comfortable materials. The vest/gauntlet combo wasn't the greatest protection from super heated fire arrows. Rubbing her fingers into her messy hair, she finally opened her eyes.

Through the blurry vision, she took in her surroundings. There was a creek but feet to her left, flowing calmly. It seemed to be about midday, though she wasn't sure what day it was. She had been laid down in a patch of grass, just before the rocks and pebbles started to engulf the sides of the water. Looking around for Gabriel, she saw him off to her right, propped up against a tree. She couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not, or if he was asleep, and decided to leave him be in case he was. Her bow was laid beside her, propped up slightly by a sizeable rock so it had little contact with the grass. Moving to inspect it, she grunted, forgetting about her bruised and possibly broken ribs.

"Sons a' bitches." She hissed under her breath as she continued to raise herself up, though much slower this time. When she was finally propped up, she gently looked over her bow, making sure it wasn't harmed and sighed in relief. She was okay, Luca could relax. For the most part, at least, she was still in an array of pain. Looking back at the creek, she decided now was the best time to try and heal. She didn't want to be a burden on Gabriel and all of his wounds.

Which reminded her that she needed to look at him when she knew he was awake. She made a mental note before moving to get up. Moving was difficult, to say the least. Her stomach felt like it had been ran over by a truck, making her insides squish around and shredding her bones. Luca's knees felt bruised, and she figured it was from how many times she jammed them into someone's face. Even though her head was spinning and she felt like she would fall into another plane of existence, she made her way to the creek. Kneeling down on the bank, she ran her hands in the cool water, sighing. Her hands started to heal, and though it was slow, it was a relief.

Luca thought for a moment, grunting at herself as she moved more into the creek, finding a deep spot she could sit in. She was not about to take off her clothes and would rather be cursed with wet clothing for awhile. The injured shiniko leaned back so she could rest her head on the ground, already feeling drowsy from the healing. Luca knew they probably wouldn't be staying here long, so took advantage of the time. She would have to get out soon, though, so she could dry up and not get too exhausted. Going from injured to extremely tired is not much of an improvement.

With the peaceful sounds of the creek, Luca was brought back to her thoughts. Once again, shocked at how she found Gabriel. Relieved, but also terrified, she felt her guts twisting just thinking about what he had to go through. She knew her shiniko days were good, and if she had anything to go by, neither was his. She still hoped, though, and if not, she promised herself she would change that.

Shiloh snuffed loudly and took a deep breath, peeling a triumphant smile as he decreed, “It wasn’t so bad. Hot, crazy hot, but not so bad.” His nose was, indeed, very clear though. It was quite the rush! That had been a real experience there. Whew!

“Yeah! It’s better than anything I’ve ever had. That’s for sure,” He agreed, then quieting down to pay attention. He listened as Yoko began to explain how the house worked and reminded him of the smaller shiniko. At the mention of Aderyn, he got an amused but somehow soft look as he replied, “I was surprised to see one so small and young on the market. At first I nearly bowled the poor lil’ guy over. Took me a while of thinking, but I sorta’ got worried about him being there. Really not safe for a young one like himself, y’know? I’m glad you guys were looking out for him.”

If Aderyn had heard this….this man would be a dead man walking. Luckily, fate had the courtesy of leaving the two of them far apart in that moment. No one would be dying today.

~~~

It had been a mess to escape from. Kovu wasn’t even really sure how he’d made it some of the way… Mostly he thanked adrenaline and the fact that he had someone with him. He never seemed to have quite as much drive or push when he was alone. Somehow, though, in a blur of dizzied motion and haphazard guesses at where he was in his woods, he’d managed to get them both away, whatever pain he was in thankfully being on the backburner until after they were safer. When his mind cleared, his injuries made themselves known, but so did the familiarity of the land. Though his balance felt askew and his ears were still ringing quietly, he could make out where they were and had taken up the easier option of settling down somewhere he knew was low and out of the way, as opposed to seeing how far he could get. If something were to happen or his companion were to worsen, he didn’t want to have stupidly pushed himself so far that he could no longer help. He didn’t want to be powerless to do anything.

Thus, he’d found a soft patch where the air and ground would be cool near the old creek, felt carefully with his toes for where the stones began, and took pains to avoid them. Sliding the bow carefully off of his free shoulder, where he’d looped his arm though, he set it down with care on the stones, then had found himself a spot nearby to rest up against a nearby tree. The throbbing in his shoulder- or…well…in his whole body more like- should have kept him sharp awake. He hoped it would so that he could keep an ear out, but it eked him into an exhausted sleep and he didn’t stir until after his friend had stirred.

The subtle sounds of movement nearby him normally would have been enough to jolt him awake with speed, but that priority got lost somewhere between the soreness and blood loss, so he didn’t fully wake. He edged towards consciousness, then sorely retreated away from it again. The sound of the water being disturbed did something of the same and he lingered a bit longer in sleep, but combined it did enough. After a few more moments of seemingly peaceful rest, his eyes snapped open with a start. Such deep sleep was dangerous, often meaning his inobservance would cost him, so his automatic reaction was defensive. He sucked in a sharp but quiet breath, hands going immediately back to the trunk behind him, and shoved forward, effectively launching himself to his feet. Breath held tight to listen as the reeling world spun around him, he stood in a planted, ready stance, arms half up to block.

Silence met him.

Releasing his breath in a tired sigh, his stance relaxed and went back to his normal, diminutive. The way he carried himself was always deceivingly small compared to his actual size. Moving with quiet, ghost-like steps, he moved with familiarity over the small space as he made his way to where Luca had been, feeling the grass with his bare feet. For a moment, her not being there made his heart stop and it was visible on his face, but the warmth that lingered there told him she hadn’t gone far. Again, he eased and continued his way to the bank, feeling where his toes met smooth, damp stones and crouching there. With routine sort of natural movement, he scooped cold water in his hands and took a small drink before pouring it over his one shoulder. It stung, but the cold helped soothe the hot, uncomfortable feeling there. Normally, he’d have been more choosy and probably worried about infection, but he knew this creek well and hadn’t had many problems with it before when treating wounds. Settling his hands on his knees, he then paused, listening to the quiet around him.

Not hearing anyone stirring or returning yet, he began to worry where his friend had off and disappeared to. With a timid sort of quietness that said he didn’t want to be heard by the wrong sort, he inquired politely into the open space, “Luca? You up?”

Gau beamed. A feeling of happiness that his food was good. It always made him happy when people liked his food. Yoko smiled and then giggled softly. "It was actually a surprise to me, but Aderyn is even older than I am. He's Gau's first shiniko, and he's had him for like a thousand years?" Yoko said, looking at Gau.

The dema nodded. "Aderyn has been with me for a long time." He said. Yoko nodded and took a bite of pork. "Gau is a pretty good dema, I don't think he's ever had much trouble protecting his shiniko. After what he did forever ago, i would totally love being one of his shiniko." Yoko looked to Rat and tilted his head, not sure what he was talking about.

When she heard a noise of someone behind her, she tilted her head, not wanting to disturb the water if whoever it was was dangerous and had not noticed her. Though, she was safe, as it was just Gabriel getting up. She smiled as she looked at him, watching as he settled and moved around. Luca was going to speak out, though she seemed to be enjoying the moment a bit too much. It had been such a long time since she got to be around him, and even if they were both bloody and bruised, she appreciated this time immensely.

Gabriel made his way to the creek, slightly upstream from her as she made sure of that. Luca did not want to taint any water they would possibly want to drink. When he spoke, she moved to sit up in the water. "Yeah, I'm up." She chuckled a bit, combing her wet hand through her loosened hair. The water soothed her throbbing head as it soaked into her hair. "I had been healing, though I should probably try to dry off now as well, seeing as your up too." Any water that remained in her clothing would help her ribs heal a bit more, so she wasn't terribly worried. The healing had removed some of the major aches and pains and helped seal up the cut in her bicep a bit. A scab remained, though it was a definitive step up from what it had been before. Pushing herself up, Luca stood and left the creek. Only to promptly lay flat out on a nearby boulder. It had a smooth, flat, angled surface and was warm from being in the sun's light. She felt like a lizard, and it made her smile.

Laying on the rock, she tilted her head to look back at Gabriel, and briefly caught a glimpse of her boots. She grunted, realizing that she didn't notice she wasn't wearing them and could have easily ruined them with the water. Her gauntlets were also off, placed next to the boots, and she had a feeling that she had woken up at some point to take the two uncomfortable pieces off before promptly falling asleep again. She couldn't recall, though. "Did you get some rest?" Luca asked, then almost immediately traded that question for another, more worried one, "How bad are your injuries?" Her mental note had popped into her head, and she was washed with worry. Enough of it that she almost sprang up from the rock to look at him, though simply propped herself up on her elbow.

Her eyes narrowed at him, taking in his stature while trying to spot where he was injured. She could see a few spots, mostly revolving around his shoulders and face, it made her feel bad for not protecting him better. Luca could heal, and she took less of the blows during the fighting and thinking about how she couldn't protect him more, even now, made her anxiously upset.

Her emotions were a jumbled mess, she decided. Shaking her head at herself, she looked back to Gabriel, eyes soft as she forced any bad thoughts from her mind. For now, at least.

Aderyn was far away indeed. He luckily didn’t have to deal with the mundane world of flirtation and casual eats. He was off on a grand quest, a journey to quench the thirst of knowledge!!!.... or maybe just to find some books. That was fine too.

See, Aderyn had been told of an abandoned old library lost deep in the wilds. He had taken a plane from Japan specifically to go find it, hoping that he could preserve some of the ancient knowledge stored within that library before it all rotted away. They didn’t usually hold up without the care of a keeper for long. Thus, that was what brought him there, backpack strapped up on his shoulders, canteen patting his side as he hiked up through the rugged, rocky terrain, summer heat charring into his pale skin. The things he did for knowledge, he swore.

Climbing up the way, he came across the first signs of the potentially abandoned site. It looked overgrown, but not quite as overrun and rundown as he would have expected. That was his first hint of suspicion. Glancing over his shoulder, he made sure he wasn’t being followed. Last thing he needed now was a trap…. Nothing. With a huff, he reluctantly pressed forward and pushed through some overgrown shrubs and towards the towering doorway, shouldering his way in and stepping into the dark hallway inside.

~~~

Kovu relaxed significantly when Luca’s voice replied to him from downstream a bit. It meant that she didn’t get kidnapped, disappear, or otherwise end up in a bad way. Also meant that there was probably no danger around, considering her tone wasn’t distressed. A little tight, maybe from pain, but not distressed. His body eased up and he rested back on his heels a bit more, settling to sit on the bank instead of being up on his toes to spring and react quickly if he had to. It was a good sign from him.

From what she was saying about healing, he gathered that she must have had some sort of ability around it. It would make sense to say you were resting up, but healing was an awful specific way of putting it and the context of how and when she placed it told him that it was probably something more than just the normal, human way of resting after injury. It was a big assumption on his part, but he was fairly certain. It made him a little more at ease for her condition. He wished she didn’t have any injuries at all and found himself oddly more concerned for her than most people he met, but he easily accepted that fact. She was someone who had left enough of an impact on him in life that the emptiness of her absence followed him in death. He was probably invested in ways he didn’t even know. Of course he was worried.

When she asked if he got rest, he started to reply, but immediately had the question switched out with an urgent request for his status. The quick change made him giggle, though part of it was out of a nervous surprise. He didn’t have people that were concerned, usually, so it was funny to be on the receiving end of such fervent worry. “I’m fine, honest,” He replied, resting his tired feet in the cool water. They felt sort of swollen and sore from all that running he did, especially carrying another full person, but it wasn’t anything unusual for him and he knew it would go down if he just rested off of his feet for a while.

In his mind, his answer was, indeed, honest. He was not dead or dying, so it was workable. He could handle it, thus it was fine. Others, especially someone who cared, might see it differently. Such a contrast was shown when he elaborated as if it were a casual everyday thing, “This sort of thing usually heals up pretty quick. Just keep on a normal pace and it fades on its own without much issue. Sure wish that the end hadn’t busted off that arrow though,” He grinned a doofy sort of almost embarrassed grin as he rubbed lightly at the punctured shoulder. He didn’t turn to show off the wound, but motioned just so she’d know where it was. Transparency was sort of his thing most of the time. “That might be a bit of a pickle, but there’s someone I can ask to take it out later today at-….” He paused, trying to think of how to put it, brow furrowing with thought. His dema? Not really. Just temporarily. Not his house either. He was sort of a guest. How to explain that whole situation…

“Well, there’s this place, y’see. It’s sort of complicated,” He decided to just outright explain. Story time, he guessed. “A dema sort of offered me to try out the house for about a week, y’know. I think he wanted me to stay, but it’s not a good idea. Today is actually sorta’ my last day on that whole trial I promised to give a shot for him. I gotta figure out how to get someone to hold the reigns again so I’m not a stray before I wander off, but I /was/ planning on going back home to my little corner of the world out here in the woods where I’ve been living. I was just checking it out to make sure it was safe to return when the whole ambush struck. That’s how I ended up running into you, actually.” He shrugged with an easygoing smile and wrapped up, “Long and short of it is, I still gotta go back and chill for the night, so I can ask their medic to take the arrowhead out before I set off in the morning. It’ll be alright. So it’s fine.”

As if that were all just casual conversation, he tried to smoothly move to, “What about you? You get injured badly? I could tell you were bleeding but I’m not much good at first aid. Sorry.” His brows quirked apologetically.

The inside of the library was a lot bigger that expected. The books closest to the small entry way looked well kept, even new. There was very little dust and very few cobwebs along the shelves and walls. Vines could be seen growing in through broken windows, and small holes in the walls.

Aside from all of that, the place seemed to be in pretty good shape. There was one sign of life in the forgotten building, an empty cup sat on its side by one of the bookcases. A deep red liquid was pooled around it. It was a type of red wine, possibly a sangria from the fruity smell that came from it.

Someone had been here, reading a book and drinking it looked like. But were they still here??

The arrow.. what!? Luca narrowed her eyes at Gabriel, and at how calmly he stated that. She listened to the rest of what he had to say, though, even if she wanted to yell at him to go get help now. "Gabe! Are you serious? You should be with that house! It'll keep you safe, and give you a place to stay and enjoy yourself. You deserve that." She was happy that all of that caused them to meet, but still! He shouldn't be living out in the middle of the woods by himself when a house offered to take him in.

"We should go to this house so they can help you with your injuries, and so that you can tell them you are going to stay with them." She was sitting up, staring at him, arms crossed, glaring a look of "you have no choice in this", and knowing he'd get the feeling. Luca was not going to let Gabriel live out in the woods by himself, it wasn't going to happen, and nothing he said will convince her otherwise.

"I'm fine, most of the injuries I sustained have mostly healed up by now anyway." She smiled before continuing, "water helps me heal, in case you had been wondering, so you don't need to worry." Pausing, she messed with her hair a bit, "you should be more worried about yourself, Gabe."

Luca stood up and walked towards her gear, carefully fitting things back on, glancing over at Gabriel every once in awhile. After she finished putting on her boots, she thumbed at her bow before grabbing the riser and standing. "When was the last time you had something to eat? I know I'm starving." Her giggle turned into a groan when she realized how hungry she actually was. She had run into Gabriel while trying to get food, but never actually got to. It felt like her stomach was sending off nukes. Luca stopped before walking towards the woods, turning to Gabriel, "Is there anything specific you'd want to eat? I can fish too if you want." She wasn't good at it, but she could try. The shiniko didn't see many fish near them, but traveling down the water would probably lead her to some more and she would be able to get them something to eat.

Aderyn took a few steps inside before noting a glass of what was probably sangria sitting there. It clearly hadn’t separated, meaning it was fresh, meaning someone was home. He was going to safely assume something sentient, meaning a person, otherwise it wouldn’t have been cultured enough to get freakin’ sangria and read. With a slight huff, he rubbed the back of his neck, peered around the massive library, and turned around. He wouldn’t ransack someone’s home. Some faulty information must have just gotten through. He’d have to look elsewhere. Maybe this wasn’t the place?....

Who was he kidding? This was the place. It was just a lost cause, is all. Great!

~~~

Luca rose her voice suddenly with what sounded like shock or concern, probably both, and declared that he should stay with the house. Kovu couldn’t help but give a slightly sheepish smile and rub the back of his neck, half laughing in that breathy way he did when he knew that someone wouldn’t like what he had to say. It always made him nervous to disappoint, and he tended to just laugh off nerves like that and play them off like he was just sort of conceding in a way. He did internally contest the fact of deserving anything. It wasn’t long, though, before he felt the glare of power on him. He didn’t even really know what a glare would look like, obviously, but he could feel it in the air. It was comforting in how familiar it was, strangely.

“Eh, wellllll…” He let his hands slip off the side of his neck and settle, palm’s up and propped on his knees, to gesture as he tried to explain in the least worrisome way, “It’s sort of a complicated situation. I mean- not on their end, believe me. They’ve been very nice. It’s just-“ How was he supposed to explain this. Folding his hands together for a moment, then only unfolding the one since his shoulder on the other side was killing him, he gestured again to say, “I’m sorta no good for it… Houses, I mean. Staying around other people. It hasn’t particularly ended well and I would hate to cause them trouble, especially after they’ve given me such a peaceful week- well, up until now, obviously.” He offered a small smile as he tried to show her it was okay by saying, “I have plenty to enjoy in the woods anyway. Nature’s nice, and I have a whole host of chimes and junk that liven the place up where my home base sorta resides. If there aren’t people there when I check it again, it’ll be a fine place to secure. I have a whole system and everything, so it’s usually very safe. I just wasn’t there to maintain it this time.”

He let that sort of settle before perking up and seeming relieved, softly smiling when Luca explained her healing ability. “That’s so handy!” he exclaimed like an excited child, practically glowing as he beamed, “I figured you must have been doing something like that, since you mentioned healing, but the water thing is so convenient. There are so many streams around here. Man, if only we all could heal like that. It’d be so helpful all the time~” He really seemed into that idea, silently wishing everyone could share powers like that, but he was glad enough just to know Luca was okay. He said as much when he added, “I’m glad you have it, though. You seemed pretty battered after that fight. I was worried.”

He stretched out his legs and toes in the water, sinking his ankles deeper with a contented look as he listened to her ask about their food situation. When was the last time he ate?... “Breakfast, I think,” He answered honestly, “I took a roll with some butter with me on the way to the bus station to come out this way.” He had felt bad taking more than that, so he honestly hadn’t eaten much of anything. He, too, was starving. When asked if he wanted anything specific, though, he replied brightly, “Nope. I’m good with anything we can get. Living out in nature has a way of purging picky habits.” He leaned back but kept his feet in the water to listen to her as she went towards the woods, wondering if he should hop up and follow. He didn’t like the idea of them splitting up too much. “I would say we could go back to my place, but I don’t know if the crowds will have holed up there again. They can be pretty tenacious. Bummer, since I keep nonperishables there, rice mostly.” Mmm…rice…. He was fond of- Fish!?

“Oh, I love the local fish when I can trap some!” he immediately agreed to the idea of fish. He had little woven traps that sometimes worked, but he obviously couldn’t fish the normal way, so it was a rarity. The idea of fish was really tempting. “If it’s not a bother, fish would be awesome, but don’t go to too much trouble,” he offered, immediately feeling bad for agreeing to let Luca work for his food that way. She shouldn’t have been tending to him, he thought. It was his fault she got tangled into the mess in the first place. So he tagged on, “The house I’ve been staying at has a restaurant thing going on, so they’ll have plenty to fill us up if we can tide ourselves over on something until then.”

The place did indeed look to be livable. It had an unkempt charm about it, like every had is only little organised place. Someone, or something was in fact living there keeping the place clean. And that something was there, watching the small Welshman from the rafters.

It moved fast and with out sound as it snuck along. The wooden cross beams never even creaked once. Soon it had perched itself overhead of Aderyn and was watching him the careful, calculating eyes. He considered letting the shiniko leave but he did come into his home uninvited, and he wanted to make sure he knew he wouldn't allow people to just invade his home.

The clearly inhuman creature slipped down from his hiding place, once again with out making a sound and crouched down behind Aderyn. Its emotions were subtle almost void. A very light perturbed feeling? Or maybe a slight annoyance? This thing had god level control over it's emotions. (SHOT)